Inside The Panthers

Pitt Opponent Has Three Candidates for HC Job

One Pitt Panthers opponent has three primary candidates lined up for their head coaching job.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Opponent Has Three Candidates for HC Job
Pitt Opponent Has Three Candidates for HC Job /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers were the last ACC team to face Mike Elko as Duke's head coach and, in the aftermath of his departure for Texas A&M, the Blue Devils have begun to lineup potential candidates to fill his place.   

According to a report from Bruce Feldman, Nicole Auerbach and Chris Vannini of The Athletic, Duke has three primary candidates lined up early in the process as they look to hire a new head coach and there are some faces familiar to Pitt among them. 

Manny Diaz, former Miami head coach and current Penn State defensive coordinator, was one of the candidates who has met with Duke over the past week since the job became open. As a 2022 Broyles Award finalist, he led the Nittany Lions defense to a tie for seventh nationally in takeaways and ninth in scoring defense. They rank third nationally in scoring defense this year. 

NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is also being considered after meeting with Duke brass this week. He's coached five first-team All-ACC selections and was a Broyles Award finalist in 2021 during his four seasons with the Wolfpack. 

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is also a candidate Duke is pursuing. During his first season with the Buckeyes in 2022, they improved on their 2021 rankings in total defense, scoring defense, passing defense and rushing defense. Ohio State ranks among the top three in both total defense and scoring defense in 2023. 

Under the ACC's new scheduling model, the Panthers and Blue Devils, who have faced each other in all but one season since joining the conference in 2014, will play just twice from now until 2030 - with Pitt hosting the first game in 2027 and Duke hosting the second in 2029. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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